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Museum of Natural History Morro Bay State Park

Just west of California’s scenic Highway 1, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History sits on a hill overlooking the Morro Bay Estuary. In addition to panoramic views of the coastline, the view from the museum includes world-famous Morro Rock.

The Museum of Natural History – the only one in the California State Park system — opened in 1962. It served over 10,000 visitors in its first two years alone, and now some 65,000 people visit the Museum annually, including 14,000 children who participate free-of-charge in the docent-led school group programs that support California’s required science and social studies standards.

The Museum features state-of-the-art interactive exhibits especially created for the Morro Bay site. The exhibits were developed and designed by Exhibit Group Giltspur, a prestigious internationally known design firm that was selected after a nationwide search. Giltspur has also created exhibits for the Smithsonian and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

26 interactive exhibits designed to delight and educate both young and old, bring world-class museum technology to Morro Bay.

These exhibits provide current scientific information related to the estuary and bay ecosystems and allow visitors to learn about tidal forces, geology, erosion, human impacts on the land and how to preserve and protect the environment and all its living creatures in a fun, hands-on learning environment.

Several of the exhibits feature touch screens that provide visitors the opportunity to find out what the forces of nature are doing at that moment in time. Visitors can build a sand dune, operate the hydrologic cycle and dig into the food pit to create their own food chains.

The Museum of Natural History is located in Morro Bay State Park and is within minutes of the Heron Rookery, Montaña de Oro State Park, the El Moro Elfin Forest and Audubon’s Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. The Museum overlooks Morro Bay which is both a State and National Estuary.

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